Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RAPACIOUS

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"RAPACIOUS" Meaning: Rapacious people or things are extremely greedy and just grab whatever they want, like predators. Pronunciation: ruh PAY shus Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like “large” or “late.” They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in “a rapacious eater” 2. After a linking verb, as in “These eaters are rapacious.”) Other forms: rapacity/rapaciousness, rapaciously How to use it: When you're being serious, you might talk about rapacious people and animals (such as rapacious eaters or rapacious negotiators,) rapacious companies, rapacious appetites or the rapacious pursuit of something, the rapacious use of some resource, rapacious capitalism, rapacious expansion, rapacious cancer, rapacious greed, rapacious exploitation, a rapacious culture, and so on. When you're joking or exaggerating, you might talk about rapacious readers, those rapacious little termites, endlessly rapacious Black Friday shoppers, and so on. But I think you'll find "rapacious" useful more often for being serious rather than joking. Why? It's based on the Latin rapere, meaning "to seize," and therefore closely related to that familiar word that we won't print here, as this is a family-friendly email. I get a rapacious glimmer in my eye when I browse Pinterest... I want to do every single project I see, which is silly. It seems no companies can match airlines for rapacity--extra fees for this, extra fees for that, and we're forced to just deal with it. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "rapacious" means when you can explain it without saying "devouring everything" or "snatching up anything." Think of a responsibility or activity that demands a lot of your time, and fill in the blank: "If I don't do something about it, _____ will prey on my free time more and more rapaciously." Example: "If I don't do something about it, reading and deleting promotional emails will prey on my free time more and more rapaciously." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words: This month, we're playing New Word Order! It's a card game that I recently created; it involves figuring out the order in which certain words and phrases entered our language. I'll give you several words and/or phrases, and you'll use your knowledge of history, slang, technology, popular culture, fashion, psychology, etc. to put them into chronological order. I'll post the right answer to each question on the following day. If you like this game, you can download and print it to play with your family and friends. (It's free.) Yesterday's task was to place "meme" on this timeline:  Sci-fi, 1954 Point-and-shoot, 1964 Flash mobbing, 2003 Answer: Sci-fi, 1954 Point-and-shoot, 1964 Meme, 1976 Flash mobbing, 2003 Today, we're switching into hard mode! When you play New Word Order on hard mode with a group of friends, you make one big timeline together, which can get pretty long—and that makes it challenging to place new terms on it! From here until the 27th of the month, we’ll be building one big timeline. (And we’ll finish out the month—the 28th through the 30th— with three unique and highly challenging questions.) Today, start building our big timeline by placing these terms in the right order: "parallel parking" and "pimped-out." Special preview of next month's game: In December, we'll be sampling questions from Orijinz, an awesome series of games about words, phrases, and quotes. Click here or on the logo below if you want to go ahead and check them out! A Point Well Made: T. S. Eliot: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” 1. The opposite of RAPACIOUS is A. EXPLORING B. REVOLVING C. GIVING 2. Many have _____ being rapacious consumers. A. accused us of B. praised us for C. fined us for Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A Exploring the archives: Whatever is rapacious tends to decimate resources and may also be Machiavellian. Which of those three bold words is most appropriate for describing something that reminds you of: -A military execution? -A cruel ruler? -A predatory animal?